Always Bleeding
by IlluminatedM
Summary: In the midst of the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry. Hermione, and Ron sneak off to the boathouse to witness Voldemort's encounter with Severus Snape. His death, however, isn't the only thing that Harry and Ron are shocked with; Hermione releases all barriers as she mourns the death of her husband, the other half of her magic and her soul. [Character Death - One Shot]


It was the night of the final battle when Hermione, Harry, and Ron found themselves slowly creeping along the side of the boathouse. Harry had been forced into Voldemort's mind the moment that he had destroyed the cup, and he knew that this is where he would find the Headmaster and Lord Voldemort, although he seemed entirely uncertain when Hermione demanded that they investigate.

"Down!" Hermione cried in a small whisper as they crawled behind a small bush growing against the side of the building, trying to keep their figures out of Voldemort's view on the other side of the large, frosted window panes.

The moment she looked up, Hermione recognized Severus Snape's form and allowed herself to feel at ease. That feeling, however, vanished immediately upon comprehending the words escaping Voldemort's thin, cracked lips – the words that she had feared the last eight months.

"You've been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only _I _can live forever."

Hermione's eyes were clouded with tears in an instant, and her hand went to wrap around the rings hanging from her necklace; this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"My Lord…" She heard his strong, baritone voice drawl, and she knew he could think of nothing to say to save himself; Voldemort had no hesitation in fulfilling his sentence when he realized that Severus had nothing for him.

"Nagini," The snake-like man hissed to his companion, "Kill."

Severus's body fell to the floor with a loud thump, and his body slid down the window pane with a smear of blood marking its path, leaving the injured man's figure just a few short inches from Hermione's face. The two boys beside her grimaced but made no sound, but Hermione released a small, anguished cry that was drown out by Severus's tormented screams while the snake continued to strike, tearing thick sections of skin from his neck. Hermione carefully pressed her skin against the glass where his head lay, and a whimper escaped her lips as she felt his body jolt against her hand each time Nagini struck again.

"Severus…" She muttered beneath her breath in a half-sob as she listened to the echoes of his tormented screams roll across the lawns of Hogwarts.

Hermione was about to lose herself in her anguish when Voldemort finally pronounced Severus as dead and vanished, not even sparing a glance at the bloody scene before him. After the 'pop' of his Apparation, Hermione was running into the glass shack where Severus lay bleeding and nearly dead. His limbs were bloody and tangled, and his throat was torn to shreds.

"Severus!" She wailed, knowing that she would never hear him answer her again.

She was holding his palm to her cheek, despite the confused glances of her two best friends behind her, when she heard a small gurgle come from his mouth; she looked up to see Harry with his hands pressed to his Professor's throat, trying to control the bleeding.

"T-Take it." She heard a scratchy, wet version of his smooth voice release with following gasp of air; she quickly summoned a small vial from her purse – the purse he had charmed specifically for her quest – and quickly caught the tear that was slowly rolling down his blood stained cheek.

Immediately, Harry opened his free hand, but Hermione shook her head; she quietly summoned a small box from the purse and placed it in Harry's palm, knowing that he would understand everything in time. She then turned and corked her vial, allowing it to lay on the floor.

"Her-mione." Severus coughed, causing blood to spill from his mouth as he spoke.

Completely ignoring the presence of her friends, wrapped her hand around his and spoke, "Yes, my love?" She frowned as she heard the shakiness in her voice; she knew that in that moment he was unconcerned with his own death – he would be worrying about her.

"My… My ring."

She quickly reached for the chain around her neck and broke it, retrieving the thick, braided metal band and sliding it onto his left hand.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she faintly heard Ron and Harry's voices.

"What the…" – "I thought they were her parents'…"

But her attention was immediately brought back to the dying man before her as he weakly took the other band from her lap as he pulled on her left hand. He, with a genuine tear rolling down his cheek, slid it onto her ring finger before dropping her hand as his hit the floor with a soft thud.

She laid her hands in his, as she had the day he had put that ring on her hand, and pressed his palm against her slightly rounded stomach as she gave him a soft smile.

"Always?" She asked, knowing that this would be the last time she heard him tell her he loved her.

His dark eyes stared into hers, his thumb pressed against her ring, as he replied, "Always."

And with that, the light in his eyes faded as they slowly slid shut, a small smile resting on his lips. Harry carefully removed his hand, still staring at the ruined man before him in wonder.

Hermione stood, shakily releasing her husband's hands and wrapped her hand around the vial containing his final thoughts, as she turned to face Ron, with Harry now by his side.

"The vial on the left is Se-Severus's, Harry. You need to watch them as soon as possible." She stuttered as she felt her own magic begin to drain, following her soul mate, but continued, "The one on the right is mine; it explains everything…else."

Harry nodded, somehow understanding that this was goodbye, while Ron pulled at her hand.

"Come on, 'Mione! We need to go; you can explain everything once we kill Him."

Softly, she shook her head and transfigured the nearest pot into a small Pensive. Harry took small steps towards her, tears already running down his face and clouding his glasses as he enveloped her in a large hug; in that moment, Ron caught on and did the same, sobbing loudly at the loss of his best friend and the first girl he had ever loved.

"Goodbye." She softly said, gently nudging the two sobbing boys towards the exit of the boathouse.

"We love you." They whispered, carefully releasing her and taking small steps towards the threshold.

As she knelt down beside the Pensive, she glanced up at them.

"I love you too."

With that said, the boys wiped their eyes and took one last look at their best friend before walking back into the war that had continued just outside the boundaries of their small enclosure, and Hermione allowed herself to be sucked into the final thoughts of the man she had allowed to become the center of her universe and the other half of her soul.

_What she was nothing like what she expected. Perhaps their first encounter at the lake, the first time they'd made love, their 'wedding' even, but instead she saw herself lying asleep in the Forest of Dean, lying in his arms on their makeshift bed._

_It was her night for watch; their last night before their journey to Hogwarts. It had been the last time she had seen him before finding him in the boathouse, and she hadn't even considered that at the time, taking for granted every single moment spent in his arms. _

_She watched herself taking deep, relaxed breaths as she lay naked in the arms of her husband, a man she had hated with such a passion for such a very long time, and realized that if she were seeing this then he must have been awake at the time. She had thought he had slept through the night, as he was sound asleep with an arm securely wrapped around her waist when she had been forced to sneak back into her camp in the early morning, but she soon realized that this was not the case at all._

_She saw Severus carefully reach for his wand, cognizant of her ability to sense movement in her sleep, and he slowly placed a charm on her, aiming at her abdomen. At first, she had thought he was casting a contraceptive charm – which she immediately realized she had never actually seen performed before – but then her stomach began to glow with a faint, light gold light, and Hermione gasped at the sight._

_After a moment of open-mouthed gaping, Severus reached forward and pressed his hand against her abdomen as he kissed her hair._

_Quietly, as even in his memories Hermione strained to hear it, he whispered in her ear, "I love you. Always."_

Hermione was thrust back into reality with tears rolling down her face.

He had known.

He had known that she was carrying their little boy, known that he would never get to be born, because her magic was bound to his in a way only explainable as a soul mate, and he had still chosen to spend his final thoughts showing her that he had known, and that he had loved her and his son, no matter what.

Drained and soaked in her own tears, Hermione crawled over to Severus's lifeless form and pulled one of his arms around her, allowing his hand to rest on her stomach as she interlocked their fingers and rested her head against his chest.

She placed a small, soft kiss above his heart before allowing her eyes to drift shut, and with her final breath she released every promise that would never be spoken, every tender touch that would never be felt, and every kiss that would never reach her lips.

"Always."


End file.
